No current events have as much impact on the lives of ordinary paycheck-to-paycheck Americans as the NAFTA trade negotiations. Every person in the U.S., our children and the lives of following generations, are impacted by the ongoing economic battle. The consequences are epic in proportion, yet the MSM insufferably avoids discussion.

Against the backdrop of NAFTA Round #2 renegotiations beginning in Mexico, the massive Multinational Corporations fight back to retain their market exploitation. Decades-long established masks are dropping; the grand usurpation’s are being exposed; there are trillions of dollars at stake.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Trade negotiators from Canada and the United States gathered under rainy skies in Mexico City on Friday to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the mood darkened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s persistent threats to pull out.

Teams from the three countries were due to kick off a second round of talks on 25 areas of discussion, with subjects such as digital commerce and small businesses seen as areas where consensus was possible, Mexican officials said.

The Sept. 1-5 round will also touch on more thorny topics such as rules governing local content in products made in North America, Mexico’s economy ministry said in a statement. Mexican officials believe Trump wants to include rules that some content must be made in the United States.

Trump’s attacks on NAFTA are seen by Mexican and Canadian officials as a negotiating ploy to wring concessions, but they have heightened uncertainty over the accord. Away from the diplomatic noise, the Mexico round of talks is expected to help define the priorities of each nation rather than yield major advances.

Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke by telephone on Thursday and stressed they wanted to reach an agreement on NAFTA by the end of the year, the White House said. If they achieve that, it could set a record among the fastest multinational trade negotiation.

The goal is to get a deal before Mexico’s 2018 presidential campaign starts in earnest. Officials fear the campaign will politicize talks, with nationalist frontrunner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador already recommending a tougher line from Mexico.

Nevertheless, one Mexican official noted that Trump’s threats had put pressure on his negotiators, forcing them to adopt tougher positions “than they would like,” while another official said they were ready to leave the table if needed. (link)

Big Agriculture is mounting a massive push-back against the possibility of losing their control over commodity market systems they have created. A consortium of lobbying groups are now in full-frontal attack against the possibility that U.S. President Trump and his trade team will destroy their grand endeavors.

The trade groups are trying to block USTR Robert Lighthizer from modifying NAFTA rules to grant small and seasonal U.S. farms, non corporate entities, the ability to file market dumping claims against U.S., Mexican and Canadian corporations.

MEXICO – […] Lighthizer, in NAFTA negotiating objectives published by his office, said he would seek a “separate domestic industry provision for perishable and seasonal products” in trade cases.

The retailers and food industry groups argued that American producers could be left open to retaliatory measures if more complaints were to be filed, for instance, against avocados, tomatoes and other produce imported from Mexico.

The letter was signed by large trade groups including the National Council of Chain Restaurants, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.

A separate letter was sent on Wednesday by 26 U.S. agriculture groups – addressing Ross, Lighthizer, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Gary Cohn, the top White House economic adviser. It too urged American negotiators to abandon the fresh produce proposal because it risks damaging U.S. producers. (read more)

This effort by the BigAg multinational corporations is more evidence of our earlier explanations of how commodity markets have been fully usurped by massive interests. There are no longer free markets; the 2017 agricultural sector is a ‘controlled market’.

There are massive international corporate and financial interests who are inherently at risk from President Trump’s “America-First” economic and trade platform. Believe it or not, President Trump is up against an entire world economic establishment.

CTH will continue to outline how it works because when you understand how it works in the modern era you will understand why the agents within the system are so adamantly opposed to U.S. President Trump.

The biggest lie in modern economics, willingly spread and maintained by corporate media, is that a system of global markets still exists.

It doesn’t.

Every element of global economic trade is controlled and exploited by massive institutions, multinational banks and multinational corporations. Institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Bank control trillions of dollars in economic activity. Underneath that economic activity there are people who hold the reigns of power over the outcomes. These individuals and groups are the stakeholders in direct opposition to principles of national economics.

The modern financial constructs of these entities have been established over the course of the past three decades. When you understand how they manipulate the economic system of individual nations you begin to understand understand why they are so fundamentally opposed to President Trump.

In the Western World, separate from communist control perspectives (ie. China), “Global markets” are a modern myth; nothing more than a talking point meant to keep people satiated with sound bites they might find familiar.

Global markets have been destroyed over the past three decades by multinational corporations who control the products formerly contained within ‘free and fair’ markets.

The same is true for “Commodities Markets”. The multinational trade and economic system, run by corporations and multinational banks, now controls the product outputs of independent nations. The free market economic system has been usurped by entities who create what is best described as ‘controlled markets’.

U.S. President Trump smartly understands what has taken place. Additionally he uses economic leverage as part of a broader national security policy; and to understand who opposes President Trump specifically because of the economic leverage he creates, it becomes important to understand the objectives of the global and financial elite who run and operate the institutions. The Big Club.

Understanding how trillions of trade dollars influence geopolitical policy we begin to understand the three-decade global financial construct they seek to protect.

That is, global financial exploitation of national markets. FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS:

♦Multinational corporations purchase controlling interests in various national outputs and industries of developed industrial western nations.

♦The Multinational Banks and the Multinational Corporations then utilize lobbying interests to manipulate the internal political policy of the targeted nation state(s).

♦With control over the targeted national industry or interest, the multinationals then leverage export of the national asset (exfiltration) through trade agreements structured to the benefit of lesser developed nation states – where they have previously established a proactive financial footprint.

Against the backdrop of President Trump confronting China, and against the backdrop of NAFTA being renegotiated, revisiting the economic influences within the import/export dynamic will help conceptualize the issues at the heart of the matter. There are a myriad of interests within each trade sector that make specific explanation very challenging; however, here’s the basic outline.

For three decades economic “globalism” has advanced, quickly. Everyone accepts this statement, yet few actually stop to ask who and what are behind this – and why?

Influential people with vested financial interests in the process have sold a narrative that global manufacturing, global sourcing, global markets, and global production was the inherent way of the future. The same voices claimed the American economy was consigned to become a “service-driven economy.”

What was always missed in these discussions is that advocates selling this global-economy message have a vested financial and ideological interest in convincing the information consumer it is all just a natural outcome of economic progress.

It’s not.

It’s not natural at all. It is a process that is entirely controlled, promoted and utilized by large conglomerates and massive financial corporations.

Again, I’ll try to retain the larger altitude perspective without falling into the traps of the esoteric weeds. I freely admit this is tough to explain and I may not be successful.

Bulletpoint #1:♦ Multinational corporations purchase controlling interests in various national elements of developed industrial western nations.

This is perhaps the most challenging to understand. In essence, thanks specifically to the way the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995, national companies expanded their influence into multiple nations, across a myriad of industries and economic sectors (energy, agriculture, raw earth minerals, etc.). This is the basic underpinning of national companies becoming multinational corporations.

Think of these multinational corporations as global entities now powerful enough to reach into multiple nations -simultaneously- and purchase controlling interests in a single economic commodity.

However, in the modern global world, it’s not just oil; the resource and product procurement extends to virtually every possible commodity and industry. From the very visible (wheat/corn) to the obscure (small minerals, and even flowers).

During the past several decades national companies merged. The largest lemon producer company in Brazil, merges with the largest lemon company in Mexico, merges with the largest lemon company in Argentina, merges with the largest lemon company in the U.S., etc. etc. National companies, formerly of one nation, become “continental” companies with control over an entire continent of nations.

…. or it could be over several continents or even the entire world market of Lemon/Widget production. These are now multinational corporations. They hold interests in specific segments (this example lemons) across a broad variety of individual nations.

National laws on Monopoly building are not the same in all nations. But most are not as structured as the U.S.A or other more developed nations (with more laws). During the acquisition phase, when encountering a highly developed nation with monopoly laws, the process of an umbrella corporation might be needed to purchase the interests within a specific nation. The example of Monsanto applies here.

Bulletpoint #3 ♦The Multinational Banks and the Multinational Corporations then utilize lobbying interests to manipulate the internal political policy of the targeted nation state(s).

With control of the majority of actual lemons the multinational corporation now holds a different set of financial values than a local farmer or national market. This is why commodities exchanges are essentially dead. In the aggregate the mercantile exchange is no longer a free or supply-based market; it is now a controlled market exploited by mega-sized multinational corporations.

Instead of the traditional ‘supply/demand’ equation determining prices, the corporations look to see what nations can afford what prices. The supply of the controlled product is then distributed to the country according to their ability to afford the price. This is how the corporation maximizes it’s profits.

Back to the lemons. A corporation might hold the rights to the majority of the lemon production in Brazil, Argentina and California/Florida. The price the U.S. consumer pays for the lemons is directed by the amount of inventory (distribution) the controlling corporation allows in the U.S.

If the U.S. harvest is abundant, they will export the product to keep the U.S. consumer spending at peak or optimal price. A U.S. customer might pay $2 for a lemon, a Mexican customer might pay .50¢, and a Canadian $1.25.

The bottom line issue is the national supply (in this example ‘harvest/yield’) is not driving the national price because the supply is now controlled by massive multinational corporations.

The mistake people often make is calling this a “global commodity” process. In the modern era this “global commodity” phrase is particularly BS.

A true global commodity is a process of individual nations harvesting/creating a similar product and bringing that product to a global market. Individual nations each independently engaged in creating a similar product.

Under modern globalism this process no longer takes place. It’s a complete fraud. Currently, massive multinational corporations control the majority of product inside each nation and therefore control the entire global product market and price.

EXAMPLE: Part of the lobbying in the food industry is to advocate for the expansion of U.S. taxpayer benefits to underwrite the costs of the domestic food products they control. By lobbying DC these multinational corporations get congress and policy-makers to expand the basis of who can use EBT and SNAP benefits (state reimbursement rates).

Expanding the federal subsidy for food purchases is part of the corporate profit dynamic. With increased taxpayer subsidies, the food price controllers can charge more domestically and export more of the product internationally. Taxes, via subsidies, go into their profit margins. The corporations then use a portion of those profits in contributions to the politicians. It’s a circle of money.

In highly developed nations this multinational corporate process requires the corporation to purchase the domestic political process (as above) with individual nations allowing the exploitation in varying degrees. As such, the corporate lobbyists pay hundreds of millions to politicians for changes in policies and regulations; one sector, one product, or one industry at a time. These are specialized lobbyists.

EXAMPLE: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)

CFIUS is an inter-agency committee authorized to review transactions that could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person (“covered transactions”), in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States.

CFIUS operates pursuant to section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended by the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 (FINSA) (section 721) and as implemented by Executive Order 11858, as amended, and regulations at 31 C.F.R. Part 800.

The CFIUS process has been the subject of significant reforms over the past several years. These include numerous improvements in internal CFIUS procedures, enactment of FINSA in July 2007, amendment of Executive Order 11858 in January 2008, revision of the CFIUS regulations in November 2008, and publication of guidance on CFIUS’s national security considerations in December 2008 (more)

Bulletpoint #4 ♦ With control over the targeted national industry or interest, the multinationals then leverage export of the national asset (exfiltration) through trade agreements structured to the benefit of lesser developed nation states – where they have previously established a proactive financial footprint.

The process of charging the U.S. consumer more for a product, that under normal national market conditions would cost less, is a process called exfiltration of wealth.

It is never discussed.

To control the market price some contracted product may even be secured and shipped with the intent to allow it to sit idle (or rot). It’s all about controlling the price and maximizing the profit equation. To gain the same $1 profit a widget multinational might have to sell 20 widgets in El-Salvador (.25¢ each), or two widgets in the U.S. ($2.50/each).

Think of the process like the historic reference of OPEC (Oil Producing Economic Countries). Only in the modern era massive corporations are playing the role of OPEC and it’s not oil being controlled, it’s almost everything.

Again, this is highlighted in the example of taxpayers subsidizing the food sector (EBT, SNAP etc.), the corporations can charge U.S. consumers more. Ex. more beef is exported, red meat prices remain high at the grocery store, but subsidized U.S. consumers can afford the high prices. Of course if you are not receiving food payment assistance (middle-class) you can’t eat the steaks because you can’t afford them. (Not accidentally, it’s the same scheme in the ObamaCare healthcare system)

Individual flower growers in Florida go out of business because they didn’t join the global market of flower growers (controlled market) by multinational corporate flower growers in Columbia and South America, who have an umbrella company registered in Mexico allowing virtually unrestricted access to the U.S. market under NAFTA.

Agriculturally, multinational corporate Monsanto says: ‘all your harvests are belong to us‘. Contract with us, or you lose because we can control the market price of your end product. Downside is that once you sign that contract, you agree to terms that are entirely created by the financial interests of the larger corporation; not your farm.

The multinational agriculture lobby is massive. We willingly feed the world as part of the system; but you as a grocery customer pay more per unit at the grocery store because domestic supply no longer determines domestic price.

Within the agriculture community the (feed-the-world) production export factor also drives the need for labor. Labor is a cost. The multinational corps have a vested interest in low labor costs. Ergo, open border policies. (ie. willingly purchased republicans not supporting border wall etc.).

This corrupt economic manipulation/exploitation applies over multiple sectors, and even in the sub-sector of an industry like steel. China/India purchases the raw material, ore, then sells the finished good back to the global market at a discount. Or it could be rubber, or concrete, or plastic, or frozen chicken parts etc.

The ‘America First’ Trump-Trade Doctrine upsets the entire construct of this multinational export/control dynamic. Team Trump focus exclusively on bilateral trade deals, with specific trade agreements targeted toward individual nations (not national corporations). ‘America-First’ is also specific policy at a granular product level looking out for the national interests of the United States, U.S. workers, U.S. companies and U.S. consumers.

Under President Trump’s Trade positions, balanced and fair trade with strong regulatory control over national assets, exfiltration of U.S. national wealth is essentially stopped.

This puts many current multinational corporations, globalists who previously took a stake-hold in the U.S. economy with intention to export the wealth, in a position of holding contracted interest of an asset they can no longer exploit.

Perhaps now we understand better how massive multi-billion multinational corporations and institutions are aligned against President Trump.

Teach everyone you know folks. Teach them all. If we lose these battles we will never have another opportunity to fight them again.

While Mexican officials have dismissed Trump’s comments as a scare tactic that could be aimed at energizing his anti-trade supporters, the threats are a reminder of the significant leverage that a president holds to scuttle the $1.2 trillion trading area. A party can withdraw with six months’ notice.

They realize there is absolutely nothing they can do to save NAFTA! They can bitch and complain. They can make threats, they can say our President is crazy to walk away. The CoC, Uniparty, Big Club, Globalist, MSM, Mexico 🇲🇽, Canada 🇨🇦 and China 🇨🇳 are at the mercy of President Donald J. Trump.

If there is one thing in this deal that flies in the face of America First, our President is terminating it! He will then immediately proceed to bilateral deals with each country assuring that WE win!

Donald Trump is doing the job we hired him to do… It is now our job to clean up/out Congress; he can’t MAGA by himself. We need to have another tidal wave election in 2018 now that we have really uncovered the enemy….

I’m surprised NATO left a loophole (six months notice) for USA to wiggle out of, especially since exfiltration of US wealth is a cornerstone of globalization. Trump kicks out one leg of this three-legged stool, and all hell will break loose!

I do remember that a major red flag with the TPP was its stipulation that USA surrender its rights to renegotiate terms to the multinational corporations. Our nitwit politicians were all in, but of course President Trump said hell to the no on that one, too!

Do you realize how we came thisclose to signing away our sovereign rights to these Deep State swamp creatures? They already had EU in their clutches and their sights were set on an EU military, again, not fully formed when Trump came on the scene. Thank GOD.

As the election heated up, I remember Obama mumbling about martial law and inviting EU armed forces to “train” our law enforcement. It never came to pass, as the largest police union, ICE agents and military Generals circled wagons to endorse Trump in a show of strength. It was then that Obama blinked and we actually held a free election. It was an unspoken turning point. We will never get another chance, either, if Trump does not prevail. Deep State will never tolerate another free election.

In June of 1995, the CIA learned that China had stolen the crown jewels of our nuclear arsenal, including the neutron bomb and the W-88 miniaturized warhead. . Later that year National Security Advisor Anthony Lake is briefed on the thefts. He is replaced on the Security Council by Sandy Berger, a former lobbyist for the Chinese government…

In 1997, news of the campaign finance scandal reached the press. Clinton claimed he was “appalled” to learn he had received illegal contributions from China. As the Justice Department began investigating, over one hundred suspects fled the country or refused to testify. Despite FBI recommendations and congressional protests, Janet Reno refused to appoint an independent counsel.[…]”

After that Bill Clinton worked tirelessly to get China into the WTO and in 2001 he succeeded.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Most feel that we live in an integrated globalized world. But when looking at recent history, what can one really say about the nature of this integration? It seems there are three fundamental trends at work that today characterize the world economy.

Three fundamental trends

The first trend is a new convergence….
Recent data suggest that while there remains linkage, it is now important to distinguish between long-term trends and cyclical movements. Since roughly 1990 the pace of per capita income growth in emerging and developing economies has accelerated in a sustainable manner and is substantially above that in advanced economies. This represents a major structural shift in the dynamics of the world economy…..

New convergence

The world economy entered a new age of convergence around 1990, when average per capita incomes in emerging market and developing economies taken as a whole began to grow much faster than in advanced economies….

New convergence and strengthened interdependence coincide with a third trend, relating to income distribution.

In many countries the distribution of income has become more unequal, and the top earners’ share of income in particular has risen dramatically. In the United States the share of the top 1 percent has close to tripled over the past three decades, now accounting for about 20 percent of total U.S. income (Alvaredo and others, 2012).

At the same time, while the new convergence mentioned above has reduced the distance between advanced and developing economies when they are taken as two aggregates, there are still millions of people in some of the poorest countries whose incomes have remained almost stagnant for more than a century (see “More or Less,” F&D, September 2011).

These two facts have resulted in increased divergence between the richest people in the world and the very poorest, despite the broad convergence of average incomes.[…]”

The real trend is toward a Three Tier Feudal type system. A system where only 3 classes exist:
The very few at the top: The Rothschilds, The Rockefellers, The Fords,Duponts, Soros

Their well paid toadies: The politicians, ,the presstitutes, Hollywood actors, top corporate management.

“America’s largest big tech corporations are now using a business technique called “efficient infringement,” which means that they calculate the benefits of stealing someone else’s patented technology against the possibility of getting caught, tried in court and being forced to pay damages and penalties. If the benefits exceed the costs, they steal.

What makes patent theft so attractive is that infringement is not a criminal act and those found guilty face no jail time. Paying up is the worst that can happen to the infringer.

The most aggressive users of this business model are fifteen of America’s largest big tech corporations. Led by Cisco, Intel, IBM, Microsoft and HP, these giants have spent millions of lobbying dollars over the past five years trying to buy legislation in Washington that would weaken the existing U.S. laws on patent infringement. Their interest is obvious since in the 13 years between 1996 and 2008, patent owners have sued these fifteen corporations 740 times for infringement and have won $4 billion in damages. Not surprisingly, these big tech corporations’ political goal is to change the law so patent theft is more difficult to prove, less costly when caught, and willful infringement virtually impossible to prove.[…]”

FFF, that was the Clinton argument, the only thing that matters are consumer prices. Competion, jobs, free enterprise, broad money, screw all that. Let them eat cake, and give them plenty of opiates so they don’t get feisty. And say, while we’re at it, that opium money will allow folks in Afghanistan and Mexico to shop till they drop. Oh, the humanity. Oh, the profits!!!

Competition has its value, including but not limited to low prices. Like: no one can pull the rug out from under you. Lots of interweb stuff is totally new market. The leaders can do whatever they want until competitors spring up. Frankly, I am something of a computer geek, having built my own computers and comps for others since mid-1990s, but I had no interest in anything other than Windows/DOS based, until I begrudgingly switched to a smart phone – now, I can see that a smart phone is not much more than a linux computer with special features.

These too-big-to-fail companies need to have someone review their monopoly power, then make small or big steps to foster competition.

One reason there is so much push back! An America with American inventors and entrepreneurs innovating and manufacturing products will lead to competition in 21st Century digital technologies…Foxconn is coming here not only to manufacture Apple but for the next Henry Fords of technology. No wonder Silicon Valley is on 24/7 takedown.

Thank you SD for making the somewhat complex subject you have ventured into simpler to understand. My aim in my vocation is to KISS(keep it simple stupid). Again thank you. America First now and always.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

We need to PRIMARY the GOPe and get PATRIOTS into the Congress and Senate!!

This new website help with that “education” on primary candidates: http://www.votemaga.com
It is being built by T_D Reddit kids to share info about candidates running in 2017 and 2018 primaries.

Here is the main website for the America First Candidates. http://americafirstrally.com/ And, yes, the candidates are being vetted.The policies ,the rallies will call to support include:
Securing our borders from threats to our safety
Defeating ISIS, Al Qaeda, and affiliates
Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization
Ensuring proper & effective vetting of refugees for the protection of all Americans
Respecting law & order, our police, our military, and those who put their lives on the line for us each day.

http://citizensfortrump.com/ was also recommended by a Treeper but it bothers me a bit because the first thing to show up is DONATE!!! and the Tea Party was sucked dry by PACs (see: How We Killed the Tea Party – POLITICO Magazine)

CTH members are well aware that the President has always had a fan club north of the border. The article linked below from the Canadian Financial Post explains that “Trump Could Soon Make NAFTA Great for Us [Canada.]”

Many of the proposed changes to NAFTA could put an end much of the stranglehold the Canadian government has on free enterprise and the Canadian economy. It would bring great relief to many Canadian consumers.

why doesn’t someone publish the NAMES of the individuals that control these institutions, as well as the NAMES of the specific institutions, and what their SPECIFIC lobby is all about and what is the impact of this particular group on the ECONOMY of the USA and the financial situation and jobs of MIDDLE CLASS AMERICA.

enough beating around the bush…..how about NAMES and LOCATIONS and SPECIFICS…..frankly, it is HARD to believe an article that implies without naming specifics.

Thank you again, Sundance. You make this so much easier to understand. I honestly don’t know how I survived before I found this site. I try to encourage all of my friends to come here. I give them the site and they say it is very good, but I don’t know how often they actually read it. I am here several times a day.

Fle,
I’ve been kneading an idea in my head on this very concept and you just provided the analogy. Thanks Fle!

Sundance has done a superb job of pulling together the data, logic and rationale for all of what Trump is doing and why it is good for US. It’s not that this information and rationale hasn’t been out there for those of us who follow markets, business trends or even worked for multi-national businesses but to have someone pull it all together so concisely and coherently and then say, “drink”.

It’s the notion of asking permission to think this way, if you will. You’ve known it all along that something was wrong but maybe couldn’t put your finger on it or you didn’t want to believe it – that maybe it was too big or didn’t want to go against the “establishment” and it’s way of thinking. Sundance has a way of demonstrating and instructing that instills confidence that if you take what you already know to be true and moor your understanding to that instruction you can free your mind from decades of institutional training.

So, now I say “drink” and thank you Sundance.

(I must confess, I may have had a few adult beverages this evening. This has been kicking around in my head since I stumbled upon the Treehouse several weeks ago.)

DUMP NAFTA – It has never been good for America – and since these negotiations have begun – it seems to me – the parties that have the most to gain are not favorable to American interests –

China should no longer be able to backdoor their products and avoid tariffs – through either Canada or Mexico – a win for China, Canada, and/or Mexico is a loss for America – and has been ever since this worthless trade agreement was concocted – in addition – items such as climate change are not economically negotiable – what started out as a liberal liability must end in the dust bin – imho

Bilateral trade agreements with Canada and Mexico would be acceptable – we are not interested in forming a North American Union that will strip us of our sovereignty – and turn America into an illegal immigrant paradise – the NAU would eliminate borders and integrate the nations – much like the European Union – we have seen how that has worked out for the European nations – it has not!

No one, really – can we trust them after what we have been through – I find it hard to believe we can – one is ruled by the drug cartels – and the other by a liberal nutcase – we have very little in common – this whole process is nerve-wracking –

Just finding it hard – I know we have a winner at the helm – just wondering why we are re-renegotiating a failed agreement – what is it we hope to gain – two is company; three is a crowd – guess I would just rather separate those two conniving non-partners – wouldn’t bilateral agreements free us from this entanglement, flep?

You will be surprised at how FAST that refining industry gets rebuilt!

Most of the time involved is get the darn *&^$^#@ paperwork done! With Gov. Abbott and President Trump plus the Wolverines, that paperwork just got expedited to LIGHTSPEED!

Here is an example of just how badly the Obummer red tape kills America:The Debilitating Cost of Federal Regulatory Compliance“[…]The Mercatus paper tells the story of how Logan, Utah developed a micro-hydro plant that cost almost $3 million in the U.S., but would have only cost between $225,000 and $375,000 in Canada. The reason the project was 10 times more expensive in the U.S. than in Canada was the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) regulations…
For Logan, Utah it was indeed complicated, time-intensive, and costly…

Sadly, Logan might have gotten off easy. Barre City, Vermont has spent seven years trying to install a 15 kilowatt micro-hydro turbine and Afton, Wyoming has spent $7.5 million ($5.6 million in regulatory compliance costs) to put in a micro-hydro facility.

As the Mercatus paper explains, regulatory compliance costs are ridiculously high—even for the type of energy project that the Obama administration supports. If federal regulatory compliance increases the cost of project by 10 times, it is time to re-evaluate how laws like NEPA, the ESA, and others are being used to slow down, and halt energy projects.

It is hard to understand how a nation that has built the world’s greatest economy can long endure if our regulatory costs result in energy facilities that are priced ten times as high as other advanced countries.[…]”

flep, this is an old sore – those responsible for enacting this agreement are no longer in power – the damage that was done – for some people/businesses – may be irreversible – ok, I see that – but, why take an old rug and beat it – you might remove the dust, but the threads are still worn –

This agreement has been a windfall for those who profited from it – but, for the people – it has been a disaster!

Ah, but flep, I am a patient person – I am just tired of the bad guys winning – that’s all!

Agree, WSB – but, God has a special place for him and many others who were and still are complicit – He will avenge His people – and return to them what has been stolen from them ten-fold – if not in this world – definitely, in the next!

I am convinced that much of the “anti-globalist” antics of the communist-style groups is just what might be called “self-sock-puppetry”. They create violent loony-tune opposition to things, as ordered from on high, so that MOST people (particularly conservatives, moderates and establishment liberals) will reject them and then think the globalist stuff is the GOOD alternative.

No – their master George Soros WANTS an easy majority – all the normies – to buy into globalist garbage. His minions just do as they’re told, and the foot-soldiers all believe whatever filters down from the top, as instructed by the people who ACTUALLY know what the goals are.

Occupy Wall Street. We were like “WTF!”. But we didn’t realize WE were the targets – tricked into siding with Obamatized Wall Street, instead of Main Street. Brilliant tactic.

It makes my blood boil when I think about all the extra money I’m forking over EVERY WEEK to multinational corporations who control the price of my food and household necessities.

I used to spend an average of $125 a week for a family of four. Now that the kids are raised and gone, I am spending $200 a week for just the two of us! This is not caused by inflation alone. This is a matter of extracting as much money from the US taxpayers as these greedy SOBs can get away with.

It should make every US taxpayer mad as hell that the politicians on both sides of the aisle are doing all they can to thwart President Trump. They are lining their pockets with multinational corporate donations using OUR hard-earned cash.

Thank you, Sundance for all you do in educating us. I will make sure my family and friends read your post. It is a matter of the utmost importance for our nation and for us.

GEE, How come no one had problems with THE CLINTON’S STEALING THE HAITIAN RELIEF FUND and using it for Chelsea’s wedding???

THIS explains why President Trump is meeting with Najib:Najib: Delivering promises to people special National Day gift “[…]Malaysia, he said, was now widely referred to as a progressive nation developing fast based on a clear stand in such things as rejection of extremist ideologies, especially in combating the Islamic State threat.

“(The King of Saudi Arabia) King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud agreed to select Malaysia to locate the King Salman Centre for International Peace,” he said.

Najib also recalled some of the country’s latest achievements, one of which he said was registering an impressive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 5.8 per cent for the second quarter of this year, one of the highest in the world.

He said Forbes magazine placed Malaysia at the forefront of all Asian countries for foreign investments while international rating agency Fitch Ratings also maintained Malaysia’s credit rating at A- with a stable outlook.

Referring to the position of Bank Negara’s international reserves, Najib said it had now increased to RM431bil, an ever-strengthening volume.

“How is it possible that some quarters are accusing Malaysia of being a failed state when, in the 90s, when the reserves were much lower, there was no talk of the country having failed?” he asked[…]”

When you mentioned agriculture, I remembered this article from the LA Times from a few days ago. It gives all sorts of reasons for the move in the article, but no mention of NAFTA. I wonder though…

Dole, the world’s largest fresh fruit and vegetable company, is stepping back from Southland.

Dole owns and operates some 124,000 acres worldwide, according to its prospectus. But precious little of the vast acreage it owns is in the mainland U.S. — just 1,600 acres spread across five states, according to the company filings. The rest of its U.S. farming operations is on roughly 19,000 acres of leased land in those states.http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dole-socal-20170830-story.html

I farm on a real “Family Farm” where the family does all the work. Not an giant Illegal Mexican sweat shop overseen by an owner that has a family and consequently calls his operation a family farm. I have a few random observations:

1. Farmers get shot down every time they want a “COOL” Country of Origin Label on their meat, cheese etc.

2. The crop insurance industry spends more on lobbying congress than any other group. By far. The insurance is 60% subsidized. Furthermore it should be called income guarantee insurance. Crop farmers are guaranteed a certain income when they sign up. Weather is only one of the variables. It has been very good for certain operators that do not have a conscience. Farm poor soil and use the county average for yield potential. This can only happen for 3 years but the crooks assign the barren soil to another family member for the next 3 years. Million dollar combines and tractors growing nothing.

3. The price of milk is set by the Federal Government. You read it correctly. It has been for many years. It is at a record low right now so this is no gravy train. Congress developed a “milk insurance” program for small farms about 3 years ago. In 2015 dairy farmers paid in $770 million and received less than 1% back despite a catastrophic 50% drop in the price of milk. Congress wonders why no one uses it anymore.

4. In 2015 Obama’s spies got caught taping the office of Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff. To appease Brazil, Obama’s Ag secretary Vilsack allowed imports of Brazilian beef that have since been halted because of Hoof & Mouth disease concerns and because it was not fit for human consumption. When Vilsack was questioned about the devastation Hoof & Mouth would bring to the U.S. he said we needed to “share in their plight”.

5. Roughly 20% of the farmers milk check is deducted for “promotion” via the “checkoff”. The very largest dairy cooperative (DFA) has very strong ties to the Bush family and “block votes” for their farmer patrons. Dairy farmers and many others such as beef & pork have tried to change their “checkoff” so that each farmer gets a vote but no way. Congress knows what is good for us.

6. Obama’s Parasitic Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack became CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) on 2/1/17. It is partly funded by the ripoff dairy checkoff. The previous CEO hauled in $400,000/year. USDEC received roughly $6 million from Vilsack’s USDA in 2016.

Most of this information came from “The Milkweed”. This is what goes on in the dairy world. I can only imagine what other hoopla is underway.

Interesting article as Dole wants to go IPO again and what choices they are making. Their holdings are just as much about the real estate.
When a company has over 4 billion in revenue and still loses 23 million, it just makes me wonder.

Depends how you look at it. Obola successfully carried out his agenda of bringing the USA to her knees. He just didn’t get as far as he had hoped. President Trump is hard at work making that little weasel look like the turd he was and always will be. Only magnified x1000

“Mexican officials believe Trump wants to include rules that some content must be made in the United States.” Oh, dear, how horrible…

I do have one issue with the “subsidized consumer” theory: not that the theory itself is wrong, per se, but not every subsidized consumer can afford steak. Many thanks to the government, my family (meaning my mother, sister, and self,) were left destitute for my whole life. My sister and I were required by court order to be on Medicaid from toddlerhood, and the only way we could survive was to have food stamps. When I turned nineteen, I was kicked off, no argument, no appeal. When my sister turned nineteen, she too was removed, and as a result my mother was as well. Mind you, these were in the heart of the Obama years. We had no way to get jobs.

My mother had a stroke in October (on top of many other medical issues.) She is entirely unable to work, and is homeless. She gets $750 a month in disability, and $20 a month in EBT/SNAP. You could call her a subsidized consumer, but between paying for our storage shed ($200 a month,) car insurance ($150 a month,) and car payments ($200 a month – her old car ceased to run, and I managed to wrangle a deal with a used car salesman for her, that, at least on paper, she could manage – a $3500 car payed in increments of $200 with a $500 down payment,) not to mention gas, I happen to know she only eats once a day every two days – and that’s because my sister and I are both doing our best to help provide for her.

My husband is unemployed and has been since June/July, I work part-time as a sales associate at a department store (I’m over five months pregnant.) I qualify for WIC, due to my pregnancy, but because my husband is a white male (we’ve still got Affirmative Action here in SC) who has never served in the military, able-bodied and in his thirties… we don’t qualify for EBT/SNAP.

I promise I’m not trying to be obnoxious. In theory, I’m as against any welfare as anyone here – I’m just saying, it’s been made impossible for anyone below the poverty line to even survive without all kinds of government help. When I was living in the car with my mother after her stroke, taking care of her, young and able-bodied enough to have a job but working full-time to take care of a homeless invalid, I didn’t qualify for any government help. I ate once every three days, and that was only because my then-boyfriend, now-husband, came by constantly and spent his own money to keep my mother and myself alive with food, water, and blankets. So say what you will about subsidized consumers, but it’s not always as easy as you think.

On the other hand, I’ve seen Mexican women blowing hundreds on definite non-necessities and using their EBT cards, so what do I know.

Obviously, I don’t know your situation other than what you’ve written, but I will proffer some unsolicited advice: get rid of the storage unit. In your mother’s current dire situation, it’s going to be a very long time before she’s able to have a place to unload and set up possessions. It’s psychologically jarring to have to give up the last of what you own when you’ve already lost everything, but she needs the monthly $200 more than she needs what’s in that shed. She could still be paying $200 a month this time next year, and be no closer to getting her stuff out.

Also, if she’s physically compromised to the extent that she seems, why does she need a car? From the outside, it seems like her living with you wouldn’t affect her disability payment, and would negate the need for the car.

Could your husband get involved in electrician / plumber etc. training? I see ‘help wanted’ signs on those vans quite a bit.

Wouldn’t have posted all that if I wanted to keep it hidden. I’m not offended at all.

Problem is, we can’t really do what you say. She lives out of that storage unit – she has electrical hookup, we kept out old microwave and she has a $100 minifridge she keeps in there, so she’s able to keep a small amount of food. Also, that’s the only place she has to keep her clothes, toiletries, etc. When we were evicted, we had three days to pack up, get out and go. We basically left everything that wasn’t essential to survival, with the exception of some family heirlooms that have been in her family for generations (that the previous generation somehow didn’t manage to steal from her.) Nor is it just her stuff in there, my sister’s and my clothes and most personal items are there as well, My sister is now helping her with the storage unit payments while I’m giving her hard cash to buy food.

Living in the car is far preferable to living under a bridge with no means of transportation. We have a local couple who does that, too. Their situation is even more dire than my mother’s. Giving up the car is simply not an option.

I’d be more than happy to let her come live with us, except that we live with my husband’s family. The house that was promised to us in January by friends of his family, had to undergo extensive renovations – it was a former rental house and the previous tenants had torn it to pieces. The owners didn’t want the hassle of renting anymore, so promised us a great deal on it. Two weeks before the expected finish time, that is, mid-August, they called and said they’d changed their minds, we couldn’t have it, they were keeping it to rent. So my husband and I continue to live in one small room in the house with his mother, grandfather, and matriarchal grandmother – a most tense, uncomfortable situation. (In her eyes he can do no right, and she despises me for fighting back and not letting her control me or my husband.)

I acknowledge the plumbing and electrician work as a good idea, except he’s tried his hand at both and… well, let’s just say it’s not his area of expertise. He can do anything under the sun with a computer, and he grasps theory well. Practice is a little less satisfactory.

(And if your next suggestion is that she lives with my sister, my sister is currently staying in the house of my former boss and his wife, my former dance teacher. They have extreme mental issues, hold basic necessities hostage against my sister, and refuse to let her even see our mother. She can’t move out without losing her job, though, as they allow her to use their car, strictly for driving to work and to church. Until she can save enough for a car, she’s stuck. At $12 an hour, part-time, that’s a long wait.)

Have you tried checking out sites like Upwork.com or Fiverr.com for freelance work? You or he may be able to find assignments to take on there, and you may also find some ideas from Pathstoincome.com which is a little how-to eBook – I hope these help!

The problem is not those in genuine need, it is those who rip-off the system AND those who created the system.

Since this is the key to understanding what President Trump is trying to do, I am going to go into some detail.

The ones who created the current system are also those who DELIBERATELY destroyed American culture. I am old enough to remember when people like you and your mother would not be left on the streets. If you had a home the community and churches would see that you had food and clothing, the town doctor and dentist would see to it that you had medical care. If you had no home, you would be place on the county farm. Those who could worked at what they were capable of to raise farm products for their own table and for sale. People in town, such as my Mom, volunteered to teach skills and reading and whatever. (Mom taught painting and drawing)

It was done at the LOCAL level with a STABLE KNOWN population and therefore the cheating was kept to a minimum. If the giving is actual clothes, food and services it makes it a lot tougher to scam the system or use the gifts for buying drink or drugs.
…..

The current situation is a long complicated mess that started after WWII when the Committee on Economic Development targeted farmers and rural America for destruction.

“[…]With World War II, America saw its agricultural system intentionally subjected to political policies that radically transformed it. What was once a decentralized system that provided a means to self sufficiency and independence for tens of millions of farmers was purposefully centralized… permitting their wealth to be extracted by what are now transnational cartels dedicated to the so-called free market and globalized trade.

This transformation was the result of organized plans developed by a group of highly powerful — though unelected — financial and industrial executives who wanted to drastically change agricultural practices in the US to better serve their collective corporate financial agenda. This group, called the Committee for Economic Development…. [was] Composed of chief executive officers and chairmen from the federal reserve, the banking industry, private equity firms, insurance companies, railroads, information technology firms, publishing companies, pharmaceutical companies, the oil and automotive industries, meat packing companies, retailers and assisted by university economists — representatives from every sector of the economy with the key exception of farmers themselves — CED determined that the problem with American agriculture was that there were too many farmers. But the CED had a “solution”: millions of farmers would just have to be eliminated. …

Their plan was so effective and so faithfully executed by its operatives in the US government that by 1974 the CED couldn’t help but congratulate itself in another agricultural report called “A New US Farm Policy for Changing World Food Needs” for the efficiency of the tactics they employed to drive farmers from their land…

The human cost of CED’s plans were exacting and enormous.

CED’s plans resulted in widespread social upheaval throughout rural America, ripping apart the fabric of its society destroying its local economies. They also resulted in a massive migration to larger cities. The loss of a farm also means the loss of identity, and many farmers’ lives ended in suicide […]” — link

Prior to the CED’s plans resulting in widespread upheaval throughout rural America” […] communities had a LME in the high 20s or low 30s. Today it’s estimated to be in the single digits. This reduction in the number of rounds that monies make has had an extremely negative effect on our local economies. All areas of community life are affected by this deficit….

Besides the obvious poverty-related problems of unemployment, underemployment, homelessness, and lack of funds for social and public health needs, there is also the issue of creating an unhealthy reliance on a vast commercial network of imported goods.[…]”

And in case you were wondering:“The Local Multiplier Effect (LME)
A Hypothetical Example

Imagine a hypothetical influx of money, say one million dollars, entering a local economy. Now imagine these dollars are spent on local goods and services. Imagine that each of the local vendors who earned those dollars then re-spends that money on more local goods and services. Envision this cycle happening several times before this money is finally spent on imports – goods or services from outside the region.

In this case, those one million dollars recirculating eight times would act much like eight million dollars by increasing revenue and income opportunities for local producers.

Now another scenario: picture that same amount of money being spent immediately at stores (or online) with businesses headquartered in other regions on imported goods. These transactions would add very little or no value to the local economy[….]”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

THAT IS WHAT President Trump is doing by bringing US manufacturing HOME. As an economist he understands the Local Multiplier Effect.

Thank you, Sundance, for the “explainer” on NAFTA and the global system. Because only Donald Trump spoke with knowledge and confidence on this issue during the 2016 election campaign, the voters in the key states damaged by NAFTA hired him to get the job done. No Russians, no disparagement of Clinton, no other reason than these voters remember when our jobs and our Made in the USA products went away. Only President Trump is working to MAGA. All of the “resistance”, from the Mueller investigation to the incessant anti-Trump rants in the news media, in my opinion, is designed to derail President Trump on this America First agenda. The last line of Sundance’s topic is chilling: “If we lose these battles we will never get another opportunity to fight them again.”

“The last line of Sundance’s topic is chilling: “If we lose these battles we will never get another opportunity to fight them again.”

A couple years ago, I had pretty much given up and figured humankind was headed for another Dark Ages.

At least with Trump I see a glimmer of hope. The ReBOOBlicans, on the other hand just make me want to scream.

So far we have had a choice of straight-up Communism or Third Way Fabian Corporatism. Either way we end up with the same Oligarchy Dictatorship with some ‘trapping of democracy’ before it goes to straight dictatorship.

Our Republic was killed in 1913** in and is in it’s death thros. I just hope we have the time and the will to save it.

Now they want to use Convention of States project as the death blow to the USA and our Constitution. An Amendment can easily be used to set term limits or other corrections to the Constitution.. A Convention of States is a COMPLETE REWRITE of the ENTIRE US Constitution. In effect the USA as we know it is abolished and a new nation with a BRAND NEW CONSTITUTION is formed!
>>>>>>>>>>>

Here are the traitors pushing this viper. LINK
Mark Levin — “I have whole-heartedly endorsed the Convention of States Project. I serve on its Legal Board of Reference because they propose a solution as big as the problem. And they are promoting state applications for a convention for the purpose of limiting the scope, power and jurisdiction of the federal government. And that’s what needs to be done.”

For the last century, barring Reagan, we had the choice of
Commie – Socialists
vs
Fascist/Fabian 3rd Way/Corportists – Socialists
and not a real Classic Liberal Conservative in the pack. term descriptions

E.M. Smith aka ChiefIO, who is an economist explains it. (The Progressives of course like to muddy the water.)

This is at the bottom of his article.
Note the date is 14 February 2011 and Venezuela had not yet failed.

[…] I’ve got to think that it’s a Very Bad Idea to have a bunch of Texans standing around with a state full of coal, freezing their asses off, and looking at their gun racks… I have family in Texas and they take right serious the advice “Don’t Mess with Texas”.

IMHO, we’re headed into the typical thing done in Fascist Socialist states. “Corporatism”. Contrary to popular propaganda, the Corporation is NOT a Republican nor conservative beast. It serves any master equally. Historically, the “progressives” have used it to great advantage. This is also one of the confounding factors that causes some folks to think that Fascism was not a type of Socialism. They kept corporations around to run things. Yet those corporations were the ones that ‘cooperated’ with the central planners; and so were ‘picked’ as winners. If you doubt that there can be a “left wing corporation” just look at Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac, The Corporation For Public Broadcasting, and all the “Non-Profit Corporations” such as Acorn and Planned Parenthood.

Here we have GE up to its eyeballs in “corporatism” with the Obama Administration. Similarly Goldman Sachs. (Exactly WHY did some banks get government money by the bale and others get taken over by the former? And exactly how many Goldman Sachs alumni worked in the Bush and Obama Administrations?) We have entered an era, IMHO, of a Corporatism Kleptocracy with rampant abuse of Government Power clearly manifesting. We know where this leads. Egypt is a good example. The Government gets a big cut of the action “donated” to the politicians if you want your projects approved. Don’t “donate” and you find your opponents being granted favors and your products regulated out of existence. The way to make money becomes legislation that mandates only your mediocre mouse trap is “approved” and any newer ones are forbidden.

Down that path lies a very bad ending. We’ve seen this movie several times. Both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany (a Socialist state in the Corporatist mold, but with added racist elements) had great economic successes for a little while. Then two things happen. The political system becomes corrupted and attracts folks who grasp after the power, leading to wars and oppression of their people. The economic system stops serving the people and ends up focused only on the needs of the Government. We are seeing this movie play out in Venezuela today under Chavez (another Socialist following a Corporatist fascism model) and we have seen it in the past in the economies of Argentina and Chile at various times (along with most of the other countries of Latin America at one time or another) […..]

Obama certainly seemed to like GE’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt. Maybe that is one of the reasons we got stuck with EXPENSIVE PATENTED mercury laden twisty light bulbs…

(Now you know where I got my Economics Education before I stumbled into the Tree House.)

Sins of omission are no better than sins of commission. Congress and senate did nothing to stop Globalism and exhilaration of American wealth. They are accessories to the crime and should all go down with the ship.

“The modern financial constructs of these entities have been established over the course of the past three decades. When you understand how they manipulate the economic system of individual nations you begin to understand understand why they are so fundamentally opposed to President Trump.”

Interesting…Concerning the Manafort Investigation,

“In 2007, Manafort and his partners established a private equity fund that would acquire Ukrainian firms and merge them into larger national entities. Manafort and his partners collected over $7 million in fees for managing this fund from firms controlled by Deripaska, according to a 2014 petition filed in the Cayman Islands, filed by Deripaska’s lawyers.”